


A Touch of Kindness

by CavannaRose



Series: Dragon Age Stories [3]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Excessive elfroot picking, F/M, Non-binary minor character, Religious Conflict, Slow Build, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-20
Updated: 2017-07-27
Packaged: 2018-11-16 14:48:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11255154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CavannaRose/pseuds/CavannaRose
Summary: Cadash didn't choose to be a crook, it was just the card life had dealt her. Now she's gotten a new deal, with bigger odds. Through it all she will find friendship, love and loss.Follows canon, with some divergence for story purposes.





	1. Chapter 1

When Cadash awoke the second time, she was in a bed. A marked improvement over the basement cell she had previously been ensconced in. Despite that, she had agreed to help this ragged bunch of bickering nugs try to close the hole in the sky. She didn't mean to sound unwilling to help, on the contrary, she was eager to put things back to normal. It was nice to be on a side that was clearly good for once. A change from her years scrabbling around for the Carta. A young elf interrupted her thoughts, forcing her to admit she was awake, slowly sitting up. The youth had come in the door holding a box, but quickly dropped it.

"I didn't know you were awake! I swear!" The poor thing was shaking like a leaf. What had the humans done to it? Cadash felt that familiar feeling of discomfort well in the pit of her stomach. What was wrong with humans?

"Why are you so scared? What happened?" She tried to gentle her voice, grown gruff over years of dealing with thugs and thieves. She didn't want to force the poor thing to flee.

"That's wrong, isn't it? I said the wrong thing." Cadash thought the elf was going to pass out, the way they were fidgeting. Did they get paler? Was that even possible? She wanted to know where she was, but how do you question a frightened child? It would be unfair. Instead, she wracked her brain for a way to allay some of the elf's fear.

"I... I don't think so." She offered, trying to show with her eyes that she was not a danger to the youth. Apparently it didn't work, because they fell to their knees, forehead pressed to the ground. Cadash felt her fist tighten into a ball. Someone should suffer for causing this gentle creature to feel so much fear.

"I beg your forgiveness and your blessing. I am but a humble servant. You are back in Haven, my Lady." No no no no no. Absolutely not. She couldn't allow this to go on. Cadash rose from the bed, moving to the elf-child and couching in front of them. She didn't have to go far, being short even for a dwarf due to a lifetime of malnutrition. She offered the youth her hand.

"Stop. Don't bow to me. I'm not a lady, just a surface dwarf, no different from a city elf except that you get to reach the high shelves." She attempted what she hoped was a comforting smile, at least the kid wasn't shaking anymore.

"They say you saved us. The Breach stopped growing, just like the mark on your hand." Uncomfortable with the fact that the elf was still on their knees, Cadash examined her hand, gathering her thoughts, trying to process everything. Haven she knew. The Breach not getting bigger was good. People calling her My Lady and bowing was less good. She made her living going unnoticed, this... this was the opposite. "It's all anyone has talked about for the last three days."

Three days?!?!?! Oh the Dasher was gonna have her tits for teacups. Add that to however long she'd been inside the psychotropic drug trip that was absolutely supposed to be non-accessible to dwarves... She was dead. Absolutely, 100% dead. But the Breach... it had stopped growing. Maybe she could get out of here. If sh could get past the young elf who seemed determined to remain on her knees. Cadash hated that, hated the humans a little, but mostly hated the fact that she was going to have to find the Dasher and try to explain what happened before he made her good and dead."Then the danger is over?"

"The Breach is still in the sky, but that's what they say." Finally the youth rose to her feet, that nervous twitchiness back in their posture. "I'm sure Lady Cassandra would want to know that you've wakened. She said 'At once'." Lady Cassandra? Suddenly the elf's terror made a lot more sense. The scarred Nevarran could scare a druffalo with that scowl of hers.

Cadash shook her head and sat back down on the bed. "And where is she?"

The young elf started backing up towards the door with great haste. "In the Chantry, with the Lord Chancellor. 'At once' she said." With that the elf fled, leaving Cadash standing in the middle of the room, clad in the ugliest pajamas she had ever seen. At once, was it? Well they would see about that.

She took a moment to explore the room, finding some armor and weapon schematics tucked into a chest, she would save those for later. Her old gear was on a table by the window, and in the box the young elf had left, whether intentionally or not, there was some shiny new toys. Taking one last look at the cheap junk that was all she'd owned in the world for years, she grinned and dove into the box, pawing through all the interesting bits and bobbles.

She tested the weight of the various armors, considering scale-mail, leather, and some cloth contraption with lots of straps, eyeing the excellent detailing on each... How uncomfortable would that scanty little cloth number make the grouchy Nevarran warrior? With a grin, Cadash struggled her way into it, taking a good ten minutes to settle all the straps nicely. Turning and bending, she was surprisingly pleased with the range of movement. It looked like something you'd find in the Blooming Rose, but it was oddly suited to her particular brand of roguery. She shook her head at the elaborate dragon wing shaped bow, but she just couldn't walk away from that gorgeous dagger...

Making a split moment decision, she strapped on the dagger and it's scabbard, then grabbed her bow from the table. Sometimes old and cheap was better than flashy, especially for a criminal. All that settled she eased open the door, ready to make her mistake.

...

What the fuck was wrong with humans? They were there, outside her door, standing all along the path, hands on their hearts. Cadash damn near suffered cardiac arrest. Instead, she gave the most awkward approximation of a smile ever, and waved at them, before closing the door again and standing there, back pressed against it, trying to breath. Apparently sneaking out was not going to happen. Not that way anyhow. What the fuck was wrong with humans?!?!?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starting to diverge from canon a bit for story purposes. I am trying to make things fluid, and to make the dialogue suit my Cadash better. Hopefully you enjoy!

Since quietly sneaking out of Haven clearly wasn't going to be an option, Cadash took a moment to gather her wits, and her old dagger to sit reassuringly in her boot. Prepared for the human nonsense this time, she held her head as high as it would go, and marched out the door, past the rows of shiny belt buckles that hovered in her peripheral vision. Stupid, tall humans with their hands on their hearts. There was an uncomfortable feeling building in the pit of the dwarf's stomach, but no time for being a ninny. Time to face down the scarred Seeker and hopefully clear this mess up mercury-quick. Maybe she'd even get out in time to stop the Dasher from having her killed. A dwarf could dream.

Five minutes later...  
"I'm sorry, did you want to run that by me again? They think I'm the WHAT?!?!" Cadash could hear the note of strident discordance in her voice, but she let it ride. The Herald of bloody Andraste? Over her dead body, which is what her body would be if the Dasher got wind of anything like that. "You realize I'm a dwarf, right? You humans have your paragon, we dwarves have lots. If I was going to be a Herald of anyone it would be Gherlon the Blood-Risen, or stones, even Bemot. One of those proper rags-to-riches kind of tales. The last thing I would be Herald of would be some holier-than-thou human who got killed by her husband for cheating on him with whatever it is you tall folks think made you."

She could tell by Pentaghast's face that the Seeker was about ready to blow a gasket at her flippant views on the human religion, but seriously! They acted as if they were the only ones who could possibly have it right, and even they couldn't agree on all the details! Who in Thedas would want to be the Herald of that mess? She crossed her arms, daring the human to let loose the irritation that was clearly just barely veiled behind her eyes. Surprisingly, though, she did not. The Antivan woman stepped in, unruffling feathers as best she could.

"Perhaps you are not the Herald, but still you appear to be the key to sealing the rifts and putting the demons back where they belong. This gives the people hope, and we can use that." The quiet spymaster said a few more things, and Cadash, noting that no one was about to yell at her, tuned out and let the so-called advisers discuss things amidst themselves while she ... relearned how to breath. Counted to 30. Backwards. Twice. Throwing a tantrum clearly wasn't going to accomplish anything here. The humans spoke of templars, mages, and some priestess in the middle of the warring factions.

She had the beginnings of a mother of all headaches, stepped forward and placed her glowing hand, palm down, on the table, with enough force to draw the attention back to her. This time she tried to remain calm. Cool. Collected. "You need me, and I need your resources to keep looking into how to remove the mark. Point me at the rifts and I'll close them. If you need to me to dance like a trained nug to draw in political support, by the stone I'll do that too. Just... No religion. I draw the line at iconography. If we can agree to that, and to keep our beliefs to ourselves, I think we can get this done. Deal?"

Cadash's gaze traveled around the collected advisers, receiving small nods of acknowledgement from each in turn. "Good. Leliana, mark where I can find this Mother Giselle on my map, I need to grab a few supplies from the merchant I saw near the gate, and maybe have a wander around Haven to get a feel for the mood, without the fawning crowds saluting me the entire way. That is way too creepy, and I want you to tell them to stop it..." she paused, "Maybe Lady Montilyet can handle that, she seems to have the most tact. Hopefully she can accomplish the feat without raising the rabble to hang me from the rafters."

The dwarf turned and headed for the exit, not looking back to see if her words had made an impression. Quite frankly, she was terrified to see if they had. She wasn't a leader, but that's what they wanted her to be. If that was how things were going, well then they'd just have to accept her rough edges as well as her super magical hand mojo. Maybe she'd find the bald elf, he seemed to have a clue as to what exactly was going on with her hand. One could only hope.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a dwarf ventures off to do a favour for a grumpy man.

Leaving the Chantry, Cadash turned left. There looked to be less people over that way, though thankfully it looked like most of the humans had gone back to their respective duties. Ducking around the back of a building, she paused to pick some elfroot growing wild beside the Chantry, tucked out of sight. It was one of those things she did just shy of unconsciously, L used to mock her for it, saying she spent too much time daydreaming of the Dalish. He never seemed to complain when she always had healing salve, though. On one hand, she knew that sneaking around Haven like some kind of thief was unnecessary, and liable to draw the Nightingale's attention... something best avoided. Despite all of that, when she came around the corner of the building and saw an open door, old instincts kicked in and she ducked inside, out of sight. The man who turned to look at her seemed taller than most due to the cramped space. Cadash allowed herself a moment to admire the neatly trimmed moustache and beard that framed the rather impressive scowl he wore.

"Look who's back from the dead. Again."

Cadash gave the man her most charmingly crooked grin. "What can I say, dwarves are built to last."

The man's eyebrow raised, and he looked her over once, making Cadash resist the urge to squirm under the pressure of his fearsome gaze. Curtly, he replied "Are they now? Then I won't bother wasting my time and interrupting my research to force-feed your prone body potions or apply salves in the future."

Cadash barked out a laugh, holding out her hands in an appeasing gesture of supplication. "Punish not, this flippant tongue, oh glorious healer. For even this humble dwarf is grateful, though she expresses it poorly. Who shall I lavish my abject devotions upon in gratitude, in return for my life and most of my limbs?"

"... Adan. The corner of the man's mouth twitched, could that possibly be a smile attempting to escape? Surely not from so somber a figure! "Get on with you, tiny scoundrel. Don't you have a world to save?"

She sighed dramatically, enjoying the normalcy of bantering with the crusty human. None of this Herald of Andraste nonsense to make her insides drop to the floorboards. "Alas, 'tis true, but I thought I must first inspect this newly acquired kingdom of mine, allowing myself to be seen by the delusional masses." Adan snorted, that one definitely sounded more like a laugh, and it egged Cadash on further. "Canst I grant my aid to thee in some small way, as a token of my undying affection, oh glorious healer?" She finished with a flourish, bowing so low she fell over.

An actual laugh ripped itself from the stoic figure, and he turned his back on the fallen dwarf to collect himself. When he turned back his face was grim again, but merriment danced in his eyes. "I'm not a healer, I'm an alchemist, occasionally an apothecary, but this damnable Inquisition of Pentaghast's is so strapped that we're forced to go where we're needed, not necessarily where we work best. Find the damn Inquisition some healers, that's what you can do for me."

Righting herself, Cadash gave the human her most roguish grin. "Interestingly enough, that's the first item on my agenda once I've finished traipsing through Haven. Anything more immediate I can get you? Supplies? Elfroot?" She pulled a small bundle from her pouch and offered it to the scowling alchemist.

He waved her away, but that hint of a smile was tugging at his lips again. "We have plenty of unskilled hands to go picking plants, but..." Adan paused, sizing her up, and coming to a quick decision. "If you can find Master Taigen's notes, he was working on something that could really help the Inquisition."

A sparkle lit Cadash's eye, now  _this_  sounded interesting... exciting even. "I must admit, ser, you have piqued my interest. I shall venture forth, and embark upon this quest for treasures esoteric."

Barking out another rough laugh, Adan aimed a half-hearted kick at the smirking rogue. "Get on with you, wretch." The coarse sound of Cadash's laugh echoed in the small building as she practically vanished from sight, scampering off on her newfound mission.

She had totally forgotten her plans to visit the bald apostate, instead ducking through the crowds in Haven, dodging the too-clever eyes of the Tethras chap, even in her circles he had a reputation. She paused to ask a few questions of the merchant by the gate, who grudgingly introduced himself as Seggrit. Though not at all helpful or pleasant, she finally finagled from him that Taigen used to have a cabin, just outside Haven's barricade. Well if that wasn't as good a place to start as any, she didn't know nickel from iron.

The dwarf passed through the gate, pulling up sharp as she was greeted by the sight of Cullen running the soldiers through drills. They weren't all that impressive to look at, but still she gave them a moment of her time. After all, for better or for worse, it seemed that they were her army. Now that was a weird thought. She wasn't a general, or a soldier... she definitely wasn't a leader. Shaking her head, she dodged between several fighters, avoiding the Commander's watchful eye, and damn near ran into the Seeker. Hadn't she left the infernal woman up at the Chantry?!?!

"Herald!" The Seeker called out in greeting, moving as if to join Cadash. Now there was a conversation that she wasn't ready to have just yet. Ignoring the commanding tones of the Nevarran's voice, slightly strident with it's backdrop of clashing steel, the Rogue waved a greeting. Pretending that acknowledgment was all that the pants-shittingly terrifying woman had wanted, Cadash bolted as if a horde of darkspawn were on her tail.

She didn't stop running until she was good and deep in the woods, finally pausing to pick some wild elfroot and tuck it into her pouch with the sprigs from earlier. With her new employment, she was guessing that the plant was going to become a staple of her diet. Tracking along the snow-covered remains of a trail, Cadash eventually came to what could only have been Taigen's cabin. It was well warded against the elements. shut up tight, but it couldn't keep the nimble-fingered carta dwarf out. Employing a skill set distinctly more 'thief' than 'Herald', she was inside the cabin in a few short moments.

Inside the cabin, the carefulness of the outer precautions was discarded in favour of dust and paperwork spread over every available surface. Scattered amidst the debris were the dried remains of plants Cadash had never truly seen. Despite herself, thoughts of the stern alchemist dancing through her mind, Cadash began tidying things up as she perused the scribbled on scraps of parchment. The precise, cramped writing filled page after page with observations, compound ingredients and all sorts of odd little observations. As the sun dropped further and further down the horizon, the dwarf found herself engrossed in the intricacies of this man she had never met. Truly, he was as great an alchemist as had ever lived. Adan should really have more of these than just those few pages he was looking for. She shuffled pages into different piles, finally noticing the waning of the day as it became nearly impossible to make out the contents of the pages.  Tucking the most interesting sheets into her breast-band, and making a mental note to return for the others when she had time, the once-thief carefully closed up the cabin behind her, sealing it with all the care and concern the last person had used.

Feeling accomplished, she decided to bring Adan the notes in the morning, for now she just wanted to get back to her bunk unnoticed.


End file.
